Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Corvette Excitement at the Concours d’Elegance of America

It appeared that the 2013
Concours d'Elegance of America at St. John's was going to be rained out on
Sunday when Saturday’s storms prevented much of the event set up.Though
rain was forecast, after only a brief shower the 374 exhibitors rushed to get
their cars displayed on the beautiful but wet fairways of the golf course.Though the temperatures were unusually cool, the
rain held off except for a short sprinkle around noon and the wet weather
didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the car owners or the 10,000 enthusiasts
who braved the threatening skies and to view some of the finest cars in the
country.

Award winning C.J. Titterrington's impeccable Z06

Of course as expected, the
category that created some of the most interest and crowds was the 50th Anniversary of the 1963
Corvette category featuring historic 1963 C2 race Z06’s and completely
stock Corvettes.Throughout the event
the Z06’s were surrounded by enthusiasts who wanted to get a close up look at
some of the historic race cars which took on the legendary Shelby Cobras which
had started to dominate the race tracks in 1963.Three
of thefour “big tank” cars on display
were racecars and one was a stock “tanker” that had no race history.

﻿﻿﻿﻿

Titterington (left) with mentor & Z06 expert Franz Estereicher

One of the historic Z06
racecars, C.J.Titterington’s impeccable black Z06, took home one of two ribbons
awarded to 1963 Corvettes.Titterington’s
impeccable restoration was the only one of the racing Corvettes to receive an
award at the show. (see article on Corvette Blogger July 24 “The
Epic Journey of C.J. Titterington and His Z06”http://www.corvetteblogger.com/2013/07/24/the-epic-journey-of-c-j-titterington-and-his-1963-corvette-z06/ ) His car, originally raced by Alvin Forsyth during
the early 1960’s, drew high praise for the documented, historically accurate,
extensive, and lengthy restoration.The
restoration was supported by a five inch binder of historic documentation,
photos, and racing records on the car.Titterington did the restoration himself with the help of a few friends
and under the guidance of his mentor, Franz Estereicher, the world’s most
knowledgeable authority on C2 racing Z06’s.During the restoration Titterington made contact with many key
individuals who played a part in the history of the Corvette including Al Forsyth’s
wife, now in her 80’s and also a racer of a 1958 “fuelie”.In addition he had the original mechanic and
crew chief for Forsyth’s car, Steve Shiner, in the 1960’s, now almost 80, go
over the engine and install an exact duplicate of the special cam that he
installed a half century before. Many important facts concerning the car were
gotten from Laura Forsyth and Steve Shiner during long hours of conversations.In addition Dan Ferri, the second owner of
the car and also a competent road racer, offered input on the race history of
the car.It was this attention to detail
throughout the restoration that resulted in a world class restoration.

Michaelis' Z06 originally raced by Dick Lang

Right next to
Titterington’s Z06 was Terry Michaelis’ Z06, originally raced by Alan Lang,
having just returned from Hampton, Virginia, and the NCRS convention where it
was honored with the exceptional “Heritage Award” which Michaelis proudly had
displayed on the front seat of his beautiful Corvette. (See article in Corvette Blogger July 18 Historic 1963 Corvette Invited,,,http://www.corvetteblogger.com/2013/07/18/historic-1963-corvette-z06-race-car-invited-to-the-concours-delegance-of-america/)Michaelis is nationally
known for owning, restoring and selling some of the most historically
significant Corvettes in the country.Nabers
Brothers of Houston did the exceptional restoration of the award winning car at
a cost of over $200,000.In June the car
won Best in Class, First Place, and Special Display awards at the 34th
Annual Ault Park Concours in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Michael Owen's 1963 Split Window Coupe

Besides Titterington’s Z06, the only other 1963 Corvette to
win an award was an completely stock, Saddle Tan 1963 split window coupe which
had just undergone an extensive restoration by Master Works Automotive Services
in Madison Heights, Michigan, and owned by Michael Owen of Florida.The car was in pristine condition appearing
as it would have sitting on the dealer’s showroom floor.Owen’s car has been shown nationally and has
been awarded eight NCRS Top Flight awards along with the NCRS Duntov Mark of
Excellence award and has also achieved Bloomington Gold.

Sadly, the winner of the Best in Show was not a
Corvette.That honor went to a
magnificent 1931 Duesenberg Model J
Tourster Derham, owned by Joseph & Margie Cassini, III. The European
Best of Show winner was a 1934 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Boat tail Speedster
owned by Roger Willbanks.However had an
award been given for the category of cars creating the most excitement, the “50th Anniversary of the 1963
Corvette” would have easily won.

Rick Tavel …is a free lance automotive journalist and an avid car enthusiast. Though he spent his professional career as a business executive, now retired, he devotes his time to writing, organizing Corvette events, and evaluating Corvettes for prospective owners for his company R/TCorvetteConsultants.He is currently working on a book about the significance and development of the 1999 and 2000 Corvette Hardtop, known as the Fixed Roof Coupe. He raced as an avocation when he was younger and held an SCCA Professional Racing license and raced in the Minneapolis Grand Prix. He was active in the PCA. He currently owns a Corvette C5 FRC and a Corvette C6 Grand Sport convertible. In addition he owns and shows a vintage Pontiac Trans Am "survivor" which he is going to sell to acquire a 2nd Generation Corvette. He graduated from the University of Kentucky’s School of Journalism. When he isn't writing, researching, painting or driving he is usually enjoying time with his grand daughter, Avery, in her wonderful world of discovery and make believe. He lives with his wife and his dog, "Jazz", a West Highland White Terrier, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Gold Canyon, Arizona."

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